In the previous podcast, we looked at the basic premise of democracy and the crucial concept of separating religion from the state. This Separation of Church from State is under threat in two fronts: Christian Dominionism and Shariah Law. Building on that in this podcast, I will discuss how Religions are undermining our Freedom of Speech, Freedom of Expression and Freedom of Thought. This Sunday, 11th of May 2014, The Final Part of Chapter 17 of the Tyranny of God, God's Threat to Democracy.

There are at least two Islamic parties in Egypt: the more pragmatic Muslim Brotherhood and the Al-Nour Party. The Al-Nour Party is the party that is pushing for a stricter interpretation of Islam be enforced in the country. To them, democracy is subordinate to the Koran.

A spokesman, Yousseri Hamad, says, "In the land of Islam, I can't let people decide what is permissible or what is prohibited. It is God who gives the answers as to what is right and what is wrong".

Here we go... another mere mortal pretending to be speaking and acting for some supernatural deity. Individuals or groups of individuals who want to install their own set of rules justify it by saying that what they say and do are the words and actions of their god. This allows them to violate the rights of others the freedom to think, let alone the freedom to speak out and their childrens' right to be properly educated.

On Australia Day, 26th of January 2010, I joined a gathering among other Victorians to protest against the tactics used by religious organisations, specifically Catch The Fire Ministries in using scare tactics, instead of rational debate to discuss the issues that plague us today.

Here is a video of that day.

Unfortunately, issues like the National School Chaplaincy Program and the Internet Censorship Filter are not being debated now, with only a couple of weeks away from the election but I hope that videos like these over the next three years will help probe and investigate the impact of religious beliefs in our societies.

Please pass it around to your contacts or embed it to your site, blog or Facebook pages. Cheers!

On the 24th of November 2008, the U.N. passed a draft resolution against blasphemy. On Thursday, 26th of March, it was passed as a ?non-binding? resolution: a step closer to being a binding resolution. In this article, Marquez Comelab, author of The Tyranny Of God, asks who really needs protection from whom? This is not about protecting people from other people. This is about taking away our right to think for ourselves and to speak our minds.